Disability activists held a candlelight vigil outside the Residence of Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik on Saturday demanding that more disabled people be made part of the committee for drafting the new disability Act. “After months of relentless advocacy by disabled rights organisations, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has finally embarked upon a historic task of drafting a new law to replace the outdated Disability Act,...

Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) activist Ashish Mandloi died at his Residence in Chhota Barda in Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. Mr. Mandloi (38), who was associated with the struggle for the last 20 years, suffered a cardiac arrest. His funeral was attended by thousands of displaced villagers, tribals and activists. Personal loss: Medha On the occasion, NBA leader Medha Patkar said she had suffered a personal loss. “Ashish immortalised the spirit of...

The Prevention of Torture Bill fails to meet the minimum standards laid down in international law and betrays a contemptuous attitude towards Indian citizens.  Unless torture is inflicted for the purpose of extracting some information, the proposed law will refuse to take notice A court can entertain a complaint under the proposed law only if it is made within six months of the date of the offence The right against torture, quite...

In an all-too-rare political consensus, India’s Central government and 10 states on Thursday decided to take a call in the following few weeks on reintroducing harsh laws that will severely punish hoarders in order to mitigate food inflation. A core committee comprising representatives of the states and the Centre, and led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, appointed three sub-groups to come up with a solution within 45 days. One of the...

An inquiry committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the functioning of the public distribution system has just turned in a damning report to the effect that the system is riddled with corruption and has virtually collapsed in some states. This observation will not come as a surprise to most people. Indeed, it is not a coincidence that even the Central government’s own Economic Survey mentions the need...